Scheduling video content from multiple sources for presentation via a streaming video channel

ABSTRACT

A method, apparatus, and computer-readable storage device includes functionality for analyzing a streaming video schedule for one or more scheduling gaps and for streaming supplemental content to fill the one or more scheduling gaps. The streaming video schedule comprises a list of start times, end times, and titles to video segments to be streamed over a computer network. The supplemental content may comprise paid or free content and may be provided by a live linear video stream, a data storage device storing video on demand (VOD) content, digital video recorder (DVR) content, a media server, a content delivery network server, a capture video device, or any combination thereof. Particular embodiments include truncating the supplemental content to fill specific gaps in the streaming video schedule, receiving user input for matching and/or search functionality to select supplemental content for streaming, and/or the like.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.Non-Provisional patent application Ser. No. 15/226,159 filed on Aug. 2,2016, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/209,685, filed on Aug. 25, 2015, the contents of each of which areincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

The popularity of the Internet, coupled with the increasing capabilitiesof personal/mobile electronic devices, has provided consumers with theability to enjoy multimedia content almost anytime and anywhere. Forexample, live content (e.g., sports events) and video on demand (VOD)content (e.g., television shows and movies) can be streamed via theInternet to personal electronic devices (e.g., computers, mobile phones,Internet-enabled televisions, etc.). Various types of personalelectronic devices are available to consumers. Different devices mayhave different screen sizes and may be compatible with different audioformats, video formats, streaming protocols, wireless connection speeds,etc.

Numerous streaming video services provide access to television programand movie streams. Such streams can be viewed on electronic devices,such as computers, tablets, smartphones, etc. Thus, media consumptionvia online streaming has become commonplace. Online streaming can alsobe used to view user-generated content instead of, or in addition to,television programs and movies. For example, a user can capture a liveor pre-recorded stream using a camera on their mobile phone and uploadthe captured stream to a website. Some websites permit a user or acontent provider to create a video “channel” that streams pre-recordedcontent generated by the user or content provider for viewing by otherusers. When a user has not generated a large amount of content, theviewers of the personal video channel may find the channel to be boringand/or repetitive. In addition, a content provider may have insufficientcontent to create a dedicated video channel for a narrow contentpreference (e.g., a movie studio may have content to create a “comedy”channel, but may have insufficient content to create a “1970s comedies”channel).

SUMMARY

With the increasing prevalence of online streaming, it would bebeneficial to be able to create channels that are targeted towardsindividual users or towards “niche” (e.g., narrow) content preferences.For example, a television network that broadcasts outdoors programming(e.g., hiking, biking, rafting, etc.) may have an online channel thatstreams the same content as presented on the television network.However, the television network may not have sufficient content toprovide a twenty-four hours a day video channel dedicated to onlyhiking, even though there may be viewers interested in viewing and/orsubscribing to such a channel. Users may also be faced with a lack ofcontent for personal video channels. For example, an avid hiker may notpossess enough content to create a personal video channel dedicated tohiking.

The present application provides systems and methods of schedulingcontent, including the ability to schedule third-party content fromdifferent content providers, for presentation on a streaming videochannel. For example, in accordance with the described techniques, tofill scheduling gaps on the hiking channel, a scheduler may search acontent marketplace for video content (e.g., pre-recorded and/or livecontent) related to hiking. In one aspect, the content marketplace issearched using one or more search terms that are derived from adescription of the channel (e.g., the search terms may include “hiking,”“trekking,” etc.). The scheduler may add such pre-recorded and/or livevideo content to the schedule for the hiking channel, along with anyhiking-related content available from the television network's owncontent library.

In a particular implementation, the hiking channel may be available forviewing as a “live linear” stream. As used herein, a “live linear”stream is a stream that appears to be live from the point of view of aviewer of the stream (e.g., the viewer may “tune in to” the stream whilethe stream is in-progress and may not be able to rewind and/orfast-forward the stream), regardless of whether the live linear streamis actually presenting a live event or pre-recorded content. Forexample, a schedule for the hiking channel's live linear stream caninclude the television network's live, video on demand (VOD), or digitalvideo recorder (DVR) hiking-related content during a first time period,and may include live, VOD, or DVR hiking-related content acquired viathe content marketplace during a second time period. If informationregarding the content acquired via the content marketplace changes(e.g., a third-party live stream is cancelled, delayed, etc.), thestreaming schedule for the hiking channel can be modified accordingly.The present application thus enables scheduling of video content frommultiple content providers for presentation on an online streamingchannel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a particular embodiment of a system that isoperable to schedule video content from multiple sources forpresentation via a streaming video channel;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a particular embodiment of a user interfaceoperable to configure a streaming video channel;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a particular embodiment of a user interfaceoperable to share content via a content marketplace;

FIG. 4 is a diagram to illustrate a particular embodiment of a streamingschedule generated by the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a diagram to illustrate modifying the streaming schedule ofFIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a particular embodiment of a method ofscheduling video content from multiple sources for presentation via astreaming video channel; and

FIG. 7 is a diagram to illustrate another particular embodiment of asystem that is operable to schedule video content from multiple sourcesfor presentation via a streaming video channel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Users have access to various types of media, such as film, television,radio, online audio/video streams, electronic-books (eBooks), printedbooks, newspapers, magazines, newsletters, etc. Different types of mediamay have or support different amounts of “targeting.” To illustrate,broadcast television, which is often aimed at a large audience that hasvarying demographic characteristics, has less targeting than a specialtymagazine or newsletter that can be “hyper-targeted” to the nicheinterests of its subscribers. Although advertisers may be willing to paya premium to advertise in such “hyper-targeted” media, the lack ofrelevant content may make it difficult to create dedicatedtwenty-four-hours a day television channels, radio stations, and onlinestreaming channels that present “hyper-targeted” media. FIG. 1illustrates a particular embodiment of a system 100 that supportsscheduling of video content for presentation via a streaming channel 116(e.g., an online streaming video channel), including the ability toidentify and schedule third-party video content that is“hyper-targeted.” The system 100 may thus enable acquisition of enoughcontent to make a “hyper-targeted” online streaming channel (e.g., thestreaming channel 116) viable. The online streaming channel may beassociated with a business entity (e.g., a television station, a moviestudio, etc.) or may be a personal video channel associated with anindividual user. In a particular embodiment, the streaming channel 116is a “live linear” stream. As used herein, a “live linear” stream is astream that appears to be live from the point of view of a viewer of thestream (e.g., the viewer may “tune in to” the stream while the stream isin-progress and may not be able to rewind and/or fast-forward thestream), regardless of whether the live linear stream is actuallypresenting a live event or pre-recorded content.

The system 100 includes a first media server 110, a second media server120, and a content marketplace 130. The content marketplace 130 maycorrespond to one or more systems or devices, as further describedherein. In the example of FIG. 1, the first media server 110 isconfigured to generate the streaming channel 116 and/or a schedule 115for the streaming channel 116. For example, to view the streamingchannel 116, a viewer may use a device to access a uniform resourcelocator (URL) associated with the streaming channel 116, and the URL mayterminate at the first media server 110.

To support dynamic scheduling of content to be presented by thestreaming channel 116, the system 100 may enable devices to share liveand pre-recorded (e.g., video on demand (VOD) and/or digital videorecorder (DVR)) content, store information regarding shared content, andsearch the stored information for shared content that is of interest. Ina particular embodiment, as further described herein, the streamingchannel 116 presents content that is identified based on shared contentinformation 132 stored at the content marketplace 130. The streamingchannel 116 may be associated with a first user 101. For example, thestreaming channel 116 may be a personal video channel that presents liveand/or pre-recorded content that is curated by (or curated based onpreferences of) the first user 101, and other users may view thestreaming channel 116 by navigating a computing device to a uniformresource locator (URL) associated with the streaming channel 116. Theshared content information 132 may include stream information 125associated with live video stream(s) and/or pre-recorded video contentthat is available from the second media server 120, such as videocontent provided by a second user 102. Thus, as further describedherein, the present disclosure enables dynamic scheduling of a user'scontent (e.g., content provided by the second user 102) for presentationon another user's streaming channel (e.g., the streaming channel 116 ofthe first user 101). It should be noted that in alternative embodiments,the media servers 110, 120 may be associated with different contentproviders (e.g., corporations, content producers, content distributors,licensors, movie studios, television networks, streaming media websites,etc.).

The media servers 110, 120 and the content marketplace 130 may each beconfigured to receive data from and to send data to various otherdevices (e.g., via a network, such as a local area network (LAN) or theInternet, using a wired or wireless network connection). The contentmarketplace 130 may be implemented using one or more network-accessiblecomputing devices, such as servers, personal computers, network-attachedstorage devices, cloud computing devices, etc. Thus, operationsdescribed herein as being performed by the content marketplace 130 maybe performed by one or more computing devices corresponding to thecontent marketplace. Further, operations described as being performed byone of the media servers 110, 120 may also be capable of being performedby the other media server. Moreover, it should be noted that althoughcertain operations may be described herein as being performed by a mediaserver, in alternative embodiments such operations may be performed byone or more other types of devices, including but not limited to,desktop computers, laptop computers, smartphones, tablet computers,cloud servers, etc.

Each of the media servers 110, 120 may be configured to receive live andpre-recorded content, process the content, and stream the content to oneor more destination devices. In the example of FIG. 1, the first mediaserver 110 is illustrated as receiving a first input live stream 111from the first user 101 (e.g., from a computing device associated withthe first user 101), and the second media server 120 is illustrated asreceiving a second input live stream 121 from the second user 102 (e.g.,from a computing device associated with the second user 102). Livestreams may be received from a stream capture device (e.g., a camera), avideo encoder, or another computing device (e.g., another media server),as illustrative non-limiting examples.

The media servers 110, 120 may be configured to provide output streamsto destination devices for playback. Examples of such destinationdevices may include, but are not limited to, laptop computers, desktopcomputers, portable media players, smartphones, tablet computers,set-top boxes, televisions, game consoles, devices included in otherautomotive vehicles, etc. In the example of FIG. 1, the first mediaserver 110 provides the streaming channel 116 to a first destinationdevice 140. As described above, the streaming channel 116 may be a livelinear output stream. The second media server 120 may similarly providea second output live stream 126 to a second destination device 150. Inthe example of FIG. 1, the second output live stream 126 corresponds to(e.g., is generated from) the second input live stream 121. In aparticular embodiment, the second output live stream 126 is a livelinear output stream.

The media servers 110, 120 may also provide output streams todestination devices based on VOD content or DVR content. To illustrate,the media servers 110, 120 may store VOD content 113, 123 and networkDVR content 114, 124, respectively. The VOD content 113, 123 and the DVRcontent 114, 124 may be stored in one or more data storage devices thatare part of or coupled to the respective media servers 110, 120. VODcontent may include television programs, movies, and other video contentreceived by a media server, such as from a VOD database or server, acontent delivery network (CDN) server, etc. VOD content may be receivedvia hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), network file system(NFS)-mounted disk, etc. Network DVR content may include recordedversions of live video streams that a media server is receiving or haspreviously received. A network DVR thus enables time-shiftedpresentation of a live stream in its entirety by functioning as a timedelay cache/buffer for the live stream. For example, the network DVRcontent 114 may include a recorded version of the first input livestream 111, and the network DVR content 124 may include a recordedversion of the second input live stream 121. VOD content and network DVRcontent may be streamed to destination devices using live linear streams(e.g., the streaming channel 116) and/or using streams that supportvarious trick-play functionality (e.g., rewinding, fast-forwarding,pausing, restarting, etc.).

In particular examples, as further described with reference to FIG. 7,the media servers 110, 120 may perform transcoding operations togenerate output streams. The transcoding operations may include, but arenot limited to, bitrate conversion, coder/decoder (CODEC) conversion,frame size conversion, etc. As further described with reference to FIG.7, the media servers 110, 120 may also provide output streams foradaptive bitrate (ABR) streaming, including generating multiple ABRrenditions of a stream, where each rendition has a distinct bitrate(e.g., video bitrate and/or audio bitrate). Renditions may also differfrom each other with respect to other video and audio qualityparameters, such as frame size, frame rate, video CODEC, audio CODEC,number of audio channels, etc.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the second media server 120 sharingcontent via the content marketplace 130. The content marketplace 130 maystore shared content information 132 (e.g., in one or more data storagedevices). The shared content information 132 may include informationrelated to live, VOD, and/or network DVR content that the creators,distributors, and/or owners of such content have decided to share viathe content marketplace 130. For example, the second user 102 associatedwith the second media server 120 may decide to share the second inputlive stream 121 via the content marketplace 130. To share the secondinput live stream 121, the second user 102 may send the streaminformation 125 to the content marketplace 130, where the streaminformation 125 describes the second input live stream 121 (e.g., thestream information 125 may include a stream name, a stream description,keywords, price information, license information, a start time, a stoptime, a stream URL, etc.).

Alternatively, the stream information 125 may be automatically generatedby the second media server 120, such as based on a user preference toautomatically share the second input live stream 121 (or all input livestreams) or based on information (e.g., metadata) included in the secondinput live stream 121.

Similarly, if the first user 101 elects to share items in the VODcontent 113, the network DVR content 114, or live streams (e.g., theinput live stream 111), information regarding such shared content (e.g.,a stream name, a stream description, keywords, price information,license information, a start time, a stop time, a stream URL, etc.) maybe sent from the first media server 110 to the content marketplace 130.

It should be noted that although the term “marketplace” is used indescriptions herein regarding the content marketplace 130, suchterminology is not to be construed as requiring that content have anassociated fee. In some embodiments, the content marketplace 130 maystore information regarding shared content that is freely availableinstead of or in addition to shared content that is available for a fee.Moreover, in selected embodiments, the content marketplace 130 may storeinformation regarding content available from different types of contentsources including, but not limited to, public online streaming websites,websites operated by television channels, websites operated by moviestudios, free and/or pay-per-view content repositories/databases,content that is shared via one or more social networks or other socialmedia outlets, etc.

In a particular embodiment, when an in-progress live stream or a livestream that is scheduled to start in the future is shared, the sharedcontent information 132 for the live stream includes a description ofthe live stream, scheduled start and stop times for the live stream, auniform resource locator (URL) via which the live stream can be accessedby another device (e.g., the first media server 110), fee/licenseinformation regarding the live stream, etc. When VOD content or networkDVR content is shared, the shared content information 132 for suchcontent may include a description, a content URL, fee/licenseinformation, etc. An exemplary user interface that may be used to sharecontent via the content marketplace 130 is illustrated in FIG. 2. In theexample of FIG. 2, a user having the username “COHiker99” (e.g., thesecond user 102) is sharing a live video stream (e.g., the second inputlive stream 121) using an interface 200. In an illustrative embodiment,the interface 200 is generated by the second media server 120 and sentto a computing device associated with the second user 102 for display.The interface 200 may be a displayed by the computing device in a webbrowser after the second user 102 logs in to the second media server 120using the computing device (e.g., by using the web browser to access aweb page associated with the second media server 120 and to enterauthorization credentials, such as a username and a password, at the webpage).

As shown in FIG. 2, the second user 102 plans on capturing a live videostream while hiking outside of Denver, Colo. The live video stream isscheduled to start at 10 am Mountain Time on May 5, 2014 and isscheduled to end at 2:00 pm Mountain Time on the same day. The interface200 also enables the user to provide a URL via which the live stream isavailable (if the live stream has already started) or will be available(if the live stream has not yet started). The interface 200 is alsooperable to receive fee and license information for the stream that isbeing shared. In the example of FIG. 2, the shared stream is free and isindicated as being available for non-commercial use with attribution.The user may also enter a name, a description, and keywords regardingthe shared stream, as shown. In an illustrative embodiment, the streaminformation 125 is generated based on some or all of the informationincluded in the interface 200. In a particular embodiment, the streaminformation 125 also indicates whether another user or device ispermitted to locally record (e.g., provide network DVR time-shiftedaccess to) the shared stream. In a particular embodiment, the streaminformation 125 may also include location information (e.g., globalpositioning system (GPS) information indicating that the stream wascaptured, is being captured, or will be captured outside Denver, Colo.).

After live, VOD, or DVR content is shared by a user, other users (orcomputing devices associated with the other users) may identify theshared content and schedule the shared content for presentation on theirown streaming channels. For example, the first media server 110 includesa streaming channel scheduler 112 that is configured to generate theschedule 115 for the streaming channel 116 of the first user 101. In anillustrative embodiment, the streaming channel scheduler 112 correspondsto hardware, software (e.g., instructions executable by one or moreprocessors), or a combination thereof. In the following description, thefirst user 101 is interested in hiking and the streaming channel 116 isa hiking-only channel. However, it is to be understood that differentcontent may be scheduled for different streaming channels in alternativeexamples.

The first media server 110 may receive search term(s) 103 associatedwith the hiking-only streaming channel 116. For example, the searchterm(s) 103 may be received when the first user 101 sets up thestreaming channel 116. To illustrate, referring to FIG. 3, the firstuser 101 may use an interface 300 to set up the hiking-only streamingchannel 116, and the search term(s) 103 may include terms from theinterface 300. In an illustrative embodiment, the interface 300 isgenerated by the first media server 110 and sent to a computing deviceassociated with the first user 101 for display. The interface may 300 bea displayed by the computing device in a web browser after the firstuser 101 logs in to the first media server 110 using the computingdevice (e.g., by using the web browser to access a web page associatedwith the first media server 110 and to enter authorization credentials,such as a username and a password, at the web page).

In the illustrated example, the first user 101 has the username“JohnSmith123” and may use the interface 300 to enter a channel name,channel description, and keywords associated with the streaming channel116. As shown in FIG. 3, the first user 101 has elected to automaticallyfill scheduling gaps in the streaming channel 116 using live streams,DVR streams, and VOD streams offered via the content marketplace 130.The user has restricted the streaming channel scheduler 112 to usingfree content from the content marketplace, and has elected toautomatically add content that is aired on the streaming channel 116 tothe network DVR content 114, including shared content if permitted, sothat such content can be replayed on the streaming channel 116 in thefuture. The search term(s) 103 may include one or more of the user'sname (e.g., “JohnSmith123”), the channel name, the channel description,the keywords, “live,” “VOD,” “DVR,” “free,” etc. Although not shown inFIG. 3, the user may also use the interface 300 to enter preferencesregarding licensing terms for content acquired via the contentmarketplace 130, and the search term(s) 103 may also includecorresponding licensing terminology, such as “commercial use,”“non-commercial use,” “with attribution,” “without attribution,” “publicdomain,” etc.

After the streaming channel 116 is configured, the streaming channelscheduler 112 may generate the schedule 115 for the streaming channel116. Based on the schedule 115, the streaming channel 116 may present“local” content (e.g., the VOD content 113, the network DVR content 114,and/or live content received via a local live stream, such as the firstinput live stream 111) during certain time periods. During other timeperiods, the streaming channel 116 may present “remote” content that isavailable from another (e.g., third-party) content source. In anillustrative example, the streaming channel scheduler 112 determinesthat the second input live stream 121 (which was shared by the seconduser 102 using the interface 200 of FIG. 2, as explained above) isrelated to hiking, and therefore is of interest with respect to thestreaming channel 116. The streaming channel scheduler 112 may add theshared stream to the schedule 115 for the hiking-only streaming channel116. A live stream may be added to a schedule for a streaming channelprior to the start of the live stream or after the live stream hasstarted (e.g., as an in-progress live stream).

A first example of the schedule 115 for the hiking-only streamingchannel 116 is shown in FIG. 4. In the example of FIG. 4, the scheduleindicates that “Holiday Trek” from the first user's network DVR content114 will be presented on the streaming channel 116 on May 5, 2014 from8:00 am to 10:00 am. The schedule 115 also indicates that the sharedlive stream (e.g., the live stream 121 or the live stream 126) from thesecond user 102 (indicated as “My hike outside Denver—COHiker99”) willbe presented on the streaming channel 116 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Alive stream (e.g., the live stream 111) from the first user 101(indicated as “John reviews 2014 hiking boots—JohnSmith123”) isscheduled from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm, a live hiking stream from asyndicated content source (e.g., “livehikingstreams.com”) is scheduledfrom 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm, a movie entitled “One with the Wilderness” isscheduled from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, and the “Holiday Trek” network DVRcontent item is scheduled to repeat at 10:00 pm. Thus, as shown in FIG.4, the schedule 115 includes pre-recorded video content provided by thefirst user 101, live video content provided by the first user 101,pre-recorded video content provided by a third-party, and live videocontent provided by a third-party.

In a particular embodiment, the first media server 110 retrieves contentindicated by the schedule 115 and inserts the content into the livelinear output stream corresponding to the streaming channel 116. Forexample, at 8:00 am Mountain Time on May 5, 2014, the streaming channelscheduler 112 may retrieve the “Holiday Trek” content item from thenetwork DVR content 114, generate an output video stream from thecontent item, and provide the output video stream at the URLcorresponding to the streaming channel 116. In a particular embodiment,generating the output video stream may include transcoding operations togenerate multiple adaptive bitrate (ABR) renditions of the content item,as further described with reference to FIG. 7. The output video streammay be sent by the first media server 110 to destination devices, suchas the destination device 140, which are “tuned to” the streamingchannel 116 (e.g., accessing a URL corresponding to the streamingchannel 116). At 10:00 am Mountain Time on May 5, 2014, the streamingchannel scheduler 112 may retrieve COHiker99's live stream using the URLentered by the second user 102 into the interface 200. The first mediaserver 110 may re-broadcast the received stream on the streaming channel116. Thus, from the perspective of a viewer at the destination device140, the streaming channel 116 may seamlessly transition from a livelinear presentation of “Holiday Trek” to a live linear presentation ofCoHiker99's live stream.

In an alternative embodiment, the schedule 115 includes information thatenables destination devices to retrieve content for the streamingchannel 116. For example, the schedule 115 may include stream URLs, asshown in FIG. 4. In this embodiment, at 10:00 am Mountain Time on May 5,2014, the destination device 140 may retrieve COHiker99's live streamusing the URL

“http://COHiker.com:1935/live/smil:denver.smil/manifest.mpd.” It isnoted that if COHiker99's live stream were captured from 9:30 am to 1:30pm instead of from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, the streaming channel schedule112 may nonetheless schedule an entirety of CoHiker99's live stream forpresentation via the streaming channel by utilizing a time-shiftedversion of the live stream from the network DVR content 124 at thesecond media server 120. When the live (or time-shifted DVR) streamends, the destination device 140 may retrieve the next stream on theschedule 115. In a particular embodiment, if a streaming channelschedule does not include timing information (e.g., start times or stoptimes), a destination device may treat the streaming channel schedule asa linear playlist and may retrieve content items sequentially accordingto the URLs in the schedule. In some examples, the schedule 115 mayinclude additional information that is used by destination devices toreceive video content, such as a username/password combination thatenables access to syndicated content repositories, etc.

In a particular embodiment, the streaming channel scheduler 112 isconfigured to adjust the schedule 115 of content that is to be presentedon the streaming channel 116 in response to input from the first user101. For example, the as shown in FIG. 5, the first user 101 may changethe 7:00 pm movie from “One with the Wilderness” to “Hikers in theVoid.” The streaming channel scheduler 112 may also dynamically adjustthe schedule 115 in response to stream information updates. For example,if COHiker99's live stream ends at 1:30 pm instead of 2:00 pm, thestreaming channel scheduler 112 may receive a cancellation notice fromthe content marketplace 130 (e.g., via a push notification). Inresponse, the streaming channel scheduler 112 may automatically fill the30 minute gap in the schedule 115 using other hiking-related contentthat is available at the first media server 110 or that is identifiedvia the content marketplace 130. To illustrate, as shown in FIG. 5, theschedule 115 may be automatically adjusted to add a third-party VODtelevision show “Great Hikes in History—‘Episode 101: AbelCrawford’”from 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm. The streaming channel scheduler 112may thus update streaming schedules in response to input received from auser (e.g., the first user 101) or updated stream information receivedfrom the content marketplace 130. As illustrative non-limiting examples,schedules may be dynamically updated in real-time or near-real-time whenupdated stream information indicates that content is no longeravailable, is delayed, has a modified duration, has a modified starttime, has a modified stop time, has a modified fee, has a modifiedlicense, or any combination thereof.

The system 100 of FIG. 1 thus enables dynamic scheduling of videocontent for presentation on a streaming channel, including video contentfrom both local and third-party content sources. It will be appreciatedthat the system 100 may thus enable a user or other entity toautomatically create and syndicate customized hyper-targeted videochannels (e.g., the hiking-only streaming channel 116). The system 100of FIG. 1 may be used to implement an ecosystem in which content,regardless of location and ownership, can be discovered and syndicatedif the owner of the content elects to share the content.

In a particular embodiment, the media servers 110, 120 may support anapplication programming interface (API) that enables external users toprogrammatically draw from other live streams, VOD content, and networkDVR content to construct a live linear output video stream on the fly.In a particular embodiment, the media servers 110, 120 may automaticallypush stream information to other media servers and/or to the contentmarketplace 130 in response to certain events (e.g., when a live streamis received, when VOD content is received, when network DVR content isstored, when video content is transcoded, etc.).

In a particular embodiment, the system 100 described with reference toFIGS. 1-5 may support searching for shared content based on other typesof information. As an illustrative, non-limiting example, the streamingchannel scheduler 112 may retrieve additional information associatedwith the first user 101, such as information from social networkingprofiles, social network friends' profiles, etc. The streaming channelscheduler 112 may use the retrieved information instead of or inaddition to the search term(s) 103 determined from the interface 300 ofFIG. 3. Thus, the system 100 may enable dynamic scheduling of videocontent for a “personal” video channel for the first user 101 based onhis/her interests, a “friends” video channel for the first user 101 andhis/her friends based on their collective interests, etc. In additionalexamples, the streaming channel 116 may be a hyper-targeted videochannel that presents continuing educational videos for a professionalgroup, a custom channel for a social networking fan club of a particularactress/actress/television show/movie, etc. As yet another example, thesystem 100 may be used to dynamically deliver and track targetedadvertising to different groups of viewers, support monetization of thecontent being shared via the content marketplace 130, and provide amethod of tracking and reporting a number/duration of content views,including shared content views on other streaming channels.

FIG. 6 illustrates a particular embodiment of a method 600 of operationat the system 100. In an illustrative example, the method 600 may beperformed by the media server 110 or the media server 120.

The method 600 includes receiving at least one search term at acomputing device, at 602. The computing device is coupled to a firstcontent source that stores first video content. The at least one searchterm is associated with a streaming video channel. For example,referring to FIG. 1, the first media server 110 may receive the searchterm(s) 103 associated with the streaming channel 116. The first mediaserver 110 may be coupled to a first content source (e.g., a source ofthe first input live stream 111, the VOD content 113, and/or the networkDVR content 114). The search term(s) 103 may be received based on userinput and/or may be generated automatically, such as based oninformation (e.g., keywords) associated with the streaming channel 116or stream information (e.g., the stream information 125) that isautomatically extracted from content that has previously been played onthe streaming channel 116.

The method 600 also includes receiving information (e.g., from a contentmarketplace) based on the at least one search term, at 604. Theinformation is associated with second video content available from asecond content source. For example, referring to FIG. 1, the first mediaserver 110 may receive information from the content marketplace 130,where the information describes video content that is available from thesecond media server 120.

The method 600 further includes generating a streaming schedule for thestreaming video channel, at 606. The streaming schedule indicates thatthe streaming video channel is to present the first video content duringa first time period and is to present the second video content duringthe second time period. For example, the first media server 110 maygenerate the schedule of FIG. 4, which indicates that the streamingchannel 116 is to present the “Holiday Trek” content item from thenetwork DVR content 114 from 8:00 am to 10:00 am Mountain Time on May 5,2014, followed by presenting the shared live stream from the secondmedia server 120 between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm.

FIG. 7 illustrates another particular embodiment of a system 700operable to schedule content for presentation on a streaming channel.The system 700 includes a media server 750, which in an illustrativeembodiment may be the media server 110 of FIG. 1 or the media server 120of FIG. 1. The media server 750 may receive a media stream 704 via oneor more stream capture sources (e.g., a camera or a video encoder) orvia one or more media content servers (e.g., a VOD database or server, anetwork DVR database or server, or a server of a content deliverynetwork (CDN)). Accordingly, the media stream 704 may include a livestream, a VOD stream, or a DVR stream. The media server 750 isconfigured to receive and send data from various other devices (e.g.,via a network, such as a LAN or the Internet, via a wired or wirelessnetwork connection). For example, the media server 750 may communicatewith one or more playback devices 770 (e.g., devices configured tooutput a display of a stream of live/VOD/DVR content) and one or moreother servers 780. The one or more playback devices 770 and/or the oneor more other servers 780 may correspond to the destination devices 140,150 of FIG. 1.

The media server 750 may include one or more processor(s) 751 andvarious components that are executable by the processor(s) 751. Themedia server 750 may include software application(s) that perform mediaserving or processing, hardware systems (e.g., servers) that support orperform media serving and processing, or any combination thereof. Thus,various operations described with reference to the media server 750, orcomponents thereof, may be implemented using hardware, software (e.g.,instructions executable by the processor(s) 751), or any combinationthereof.

The media server 750 may include one or more network interface(s) 752.For example, the network interface(s) 752 may include input interface(s)and output interface(s) that are configured to receive data and to senddata, respectively. In a particular embodiment, the network interface(s)752 may be wired and/or wireless interfaces that enable the media server750 to communicate data via a network, such as the Internet. Forexample, the network interface(s) 752 may include an Ethernet interface,a wireless interface compatible with an Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (e.g., Wi-Fi) protocol, or otherwired or wireless interfaces.

The media server 750 may support multiple coding technologies andprotocols. For example, the media server 750 may support video encodingtypes including, but not limited to, H.264, On2 VP6, Sorenson Spark,Screen video, Screen video 2, motion picture experts group (MPEG) 2(MPEG-2), MPEG-4 Part 2, and MPEG-4 Part 10. The media server 750 maysupport audio encoding types including, but not limited to, advancedaudio coding (AAC), AAC low complexity (AAC LC), AAC high efficiency(HE-AAC), G.711, MPEG Audio Layer 3 (MP3), Speex, Nellymoser Asao, andAC-3.

The media server 750 may support communication (e.g., adaptive streamingand non-adaptive streaming) protocols including, but not limited to,hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) live streaming (HLS), HTTP dynamicstreaming (HDS), smooth streaming, and MPEG dynamic adaptive streamingover HTTP (MPEG-DASH) (also known as international organization forstandardization (ISO)/international electrotechnical commission (IEC)23009-1). The media server 750 may also support real time messagingprotocol (RTMP) (and variants thereof), real-time streaming protocol(RTSP), real-time transport protocol (RTP), and MPEG-2 transport stream(MPEG-TS). Additional audio formats, video formats, coder/decoders(CODECs), and/or protocols may also be supported.

The media server 750 may also include one or more transcoder(s) 755. Thetranscoder(s) 755 may be configured to transcode the media stream 704 togenerate multiple ABR rendition(s) 765 of the media stream 704. The ABRrendition(s) 765, or portions thereof, may be stored at one or more datastorage device(s) 759. The data storage device(s) 759 may also includeVOD content 758 and DVR content 753. In an example, the transcoder(s)755 may transcode the VOD content 758 (or the DVR content 753) togenerate multiple ABR renditions of the VOD content 758 (or the DVRcontent 753), so that the media server 750 may provide VOD streams (orDVR streams) to one or more of the playback devices 770.

The ABR rendition(s) 765 of the media stream 704 may correspond todifferent quality renditions of the media stream 704. For example, thetranscoder(s) 755 may generate a high-quality ABR rendition of the mediastream 704 and/or may generate a lower-quality ABR rendition of themedia stream 704 that is suitable for streaming in low-bandwidth networkconditions. The transcoder(s) 755 may be configured to perform bitrateconversion, CODEC conversion, frame size conversion, etc. Moreover, suchtranscoding may be performed in response to requests from the playbackdevices 770. Thus, the media server 750 may be able to generate multipleABR rendition(s) 765 of the media stream 704 for different playbackdevices 770 experiencing different network conditions.

The one or more ABR rendition(s) 765 may be sent to the one or moreplayback devices 770. For example, depending on a playback formatsupported by a requesting playback device 770, and/or transcodingparameters in use by the transcoder(s) 755, the media server 750 maysend one or more ABR renditions to the playback devices 770 based onrequests received from the playback devices 770. In a particularembodiment, parameters used by the transcoder(s) 755 are stored in oneor more transcoding template(s) 756. For example, the transcodingtemplate(s) 756 may be computer-readable files (e.g., eXtensible markuplanguage (XML) files) that define transcoding parameters (e.g., bitrate,type of CODEC, etc.) for various stream renditions.

The media server 750 may also include a streaming channel scheduler 757,which may operate as described with reference to the streaming channelscheduler 112 of FIG. 1. During operation, the media server 750 mayperform transcoding of the media stream 704, the VOD content 758, and/orthe DVR content 753 for adaptive streaming. As described above, adaptivestreaming is a media transmission mechanism that enables a receivingdevice to dynamically request different versions of a stream in responseto changing network conditions. For example, one of the playback devices770 (e.g., a desktop or laptop computing device 771, a television orset-top box 772, a smartphone 773, or a tablet computer 774) mayinitiate an adaptive streaming session with the media server 750 for themedia stream 704 by sending a first request 762. In an illustrativeexample, the first request 762 is generated in response to a userselecting a link to the media stream 704 (e.g., on a webpage), where thelink specifies an Internet address of the media server 750. The mediaserver 750 may send a manifest 763 to the initiating device (e.g., thecomputing device 771) in response to the first request 762. The manifest763 may include information describing each of the plurality of ABRrendition(s) 765 (if any) of the media stream 704. For example, thetranscoding template(s) 756 may define particular available ABRrendition(s) 765 of the media stream 704 and the manifest 763 may beautomatically generated based on the transcoding template(s) 756.

Upon receiving the manifest 763, the computing device 771 may determinewhich (if any) of the available ABR rendition(s) 765 of the media stream704 should be requested from the media server 750. For example, thecomputing device 771 may make such a determination based onbuffering/processing capability at the computing device 771 and/ornetwork conditions being experienced by the computing device 771. Upondetermining which ABR rendition should be requested, the computingdevice 771 may transmit a second request 764 to the media server 750.The second request 764 may specify a particular ABR rendition of themedia stream 704. If there are no problems with receipt and playback ofthe requested ABR rendition of the media stream 704, the computingdevice 771 may continue to receive the requested ABR rendition of themedia stream 704 for continued playback. However, if playback and/ornetwork conditions become worse, the computing device 771 may switch toa lower bitrate rendition by requesting a lower bitrate ABR rendition ofthe media stream 704. Conversely, if playback and/or network conditionsimprove, the computing device 771 may switch to a higher bitraterendition. The transcoder(s) 755 may generate key frame aligned portionsfor the adaptive streaming renditions, so that switching to a lowerbitrate or higher bitrate ABR rendition appears “seamless” (e.g., doesnot result in noticeable visual glitches or dropped frames at a playbackdevice 770, such as the computing device 771, the television/set-top box772, the smartphone 773, or the tablet computer 774).

Thus, during an adaptive streaming session, the media server 750 mayreceive the second request 764 from the computing device 771 for aparticular ABR rendition (or “chunk” thereof) of the media stream 704.Upon receiving the second request 764, the media server 750 may checkwhether the requested ABR rendition (or chunk) is stored in the datastorage device(s) 759. If so, the media server 750 may respond to thesecond request 764 by retrieving the requested ABR rendition (or chunk)from the data storage device(s) 759 and transmitting the retrieved ABRrendition (or chunk) to the computing device 771. If the requested ABRrendition (or chunk) is not available from the data storage device(s)759, the transcoder(s) 755 may generate the requested ABR rendition (orchunk) by transcoding the media stream 704 (or a portion thereof), andthe generated ABR rendition (or chunk) may be transmitted to thecomputing device 771 in response to the second request 764. Thegenerated ABR rendition (or chunk) may also be cached at the datastorage device(s) 759 for subsequent retrieval. In a particularembodiment, sending the ABR rendition(s) 765 to the computing device 771includes encoding and/or encapsulating the generated ABR rendition(s)765 in accordance with the adaptive streaming protocol being used by thecomputing device 771 (e.g., HLS, HDS, smooth streaming, MPEG-DASH,etc.). As additional adaptive streaming requests are received from thecomputing device 771 for the same or other renditions of the VOD item,the transcoder(s) 755 may generate the additional ABR rendition(s) (orchunks) on the fly as needed.

The media server 750 may also receive a request from a playback device770 for a streaming channel 768 or for a schedule 767 of the streamingchannel 768. In an illustrative example, the schedule 767 is theschedule 115 of FIG. 1 and the streaming channel 768 is the streamingchannel 116 of FIG. 1. The schedule 767 may indicate that the streamingchannel 768 is to present “local” content available at the media server750 (e.g., the media stream 704, the VOD content 758, and the DVRcontent 753) during some time periods. The schedule 767 may alsoindicate that during other time periods, the streaming channel 768 is topresent “remote” content available from other content sources. In anillustrative example, the streaming channel scheduler 757 identifiessuch content by searching a content marketplace, such as the contentmarketplace 130 of FIG. 1. In a particular embodiment, the streamingchannel scheduler 757 generates the streaming channel 768 by retrievingcontent based on the schedule 767 and sends a live linear video streamcorresponding to the streaming channel 768 to a destination device.Alternatively, the streaming channel scheduler 757 may send the schedule767 to a destination device, where the schedule 767 includes information(e.g., stream URLs) that enables the destination device to retrievevideo streams from various content sources. In a particular embodiment,the streaming channel 768 is available for adaptive streaming, asdescribed with reference to the manifest 763 and the ABR rendition(s)765. Moreover, in a particular embodiment, the systems and methods ofthe present disclosure support simultaneously presenting both “local”and “remote” content on a streaming channel. For example, the schedule757 may indicate that, during a particular time period, the streamingchannel 768 is to concurrently present “local” live, VOD, or network DVRcontent (that is available from the media server 750) as well as“remote” live, VOD, or network DVR content (that is available from anexternal content source and that was identified based on the contentmarketplace 130). In this scenario, the media server 750 may retrievethe local content and the remote content, and may generate a compositestream that includes both the local content and the remote content.Illustrative non-limiting examples of such simultaneous contentpresentation can include a stream that includes side-by-side orpicture-in-picture (PinP) presentation of the local and remote content,a stream that includes local video and remote audio (or vice versa),etc.

The described techniques may also be used to generate and transmit theschedule 767 and/or multiple ABR rendition(s) 766 of the media stream704, the VOD content 758, the DVR content 753 and/or the streamingchannel 768 to other servers 780. For example, the media server 750 maytransmit a streaming channel schedule and/or ABR renditions to anothermedia server 781, a stream relay server, and/or to a server (e.g., anedge server) of a content delivery network (CDN) 782. To illustrate, thestreaming channel 768 may be sent to edge servers of the CDN 782 to makethe streaming channel 768 more readily available to viewers in differentgeographic regions. In a particular embodiment, requested content at theCDN 782 may be set up using a pull through caching mechanism. The CDN782 may include one or more edge HTTP caching servers. If a cache missfor requested content occurs at a caching server, the caching server maypull the requested content from the media server 750, which acts as anorigin server. FIG. 7 thus illustrates a system 700 in which the mediaserver 750 is configured to schedule live and pre-recorded content forpresentation on a streaming channel, including support for simultaneousABR streaming of the streaming channel to multiple playbackdevices/servers.

In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that techniques of thepresent disclosure may improve functionality at one or more computingdevices. For example, in accordance with the present disclosure, thefirst media server 110 may have the ability to automatically discovercontent and fill scheduling gaps in the streaming channel 116. The firstmedia server 110 may also have the ability to automatically adjust theschedule 115 in response to changes in content start time, stop time,duration, etc. The systems and methods of the present disclosure thusprovide a multi-device ecosystem (e.g., including content capturedevices associated with the users 101, 102, the media servers 110, 120,the content marketplace 130, and the destination devices 150, 160) inwhich content can be discovered, shared, syndicated, and formatted forviewing (e.g., via ABR streaming) regardless of the location and type ofcontent capture device, destination/viewing device, etc.

It should be noted that the order of steps or operations described withreference to FIGS. 1-7 is to be considered illustrative, not limiting.In alternate embodiments, the order of steps may be different. Further,one or more steps may be optional and/or replaced by other steps. Inaddition, one or more steps may be consolidated. In accordance withvarious embodiments of the present disclosure, one or more methods,functions, and modules described herein may be implemented by softwareprograms executable by a computer system. Further, implementations caninclude distributed processing, component/object distributed processing,and/or parallel processing.

Particular embodiments can be implemented using a computer systemexecuting a set of instructions that cause the computer system toperform any one or more of the methods or computer-based functionsdisclosed herein. A computer system may include a laptop computer, adesktop computer, a server computer, a mobile phone, a tablet computer,a set-top box, a media player, one or more other computing devices, orany combination thereof. The computer system may be connected, e.g.,using a network, to other computer systems or peripheral devices. Thus,although one or more devices may be illustrated as being connected toone or more other devices via a line, it is to be understood that such aconnection may be a wired and/or wireless connection that may includeone or more public and/or private networks. In some examples, thecomputer system or components thereof may include or may be includedwithin any one or more of the media server 110 of FIG. 1, the mediaserver 120 of FIG. 1, the content marketplace 130 of FIG. 1, thedestination device 140 of FIG. 1, the destination device 150 of FIG. 1,a computing device associated with the first user 101 of FIG. 1, acomputing device associated with the second user 102 of FIG. 1, themedia server 750 of FIG. 7, the desktop/laptop computing device 771 ofFIG. 7, the TV/set-top box 772 of FIG. 7, the smartphone 773 of FIG. 7,the tablet computer 774 of FIG. 7, the media server/stream relay server781 of FIG. 7, a server (e.g., edge server) of the CDN 782 FIG. 7, orany combination thereof.

In a networked deployment, the computer system may operate in thecapacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-clientuser network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer(or distributed) network environment. The term “system” can include anycollection of systems or sub-systems that individually or jointlyexecute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform one or morecomputer functions.

In a particular embodiment, the instructions can be embodied in acomputer-readable storage device or a processor-readable storage device.The terms “computer-readable storage device” and “processor-readablestorage device” include a single storage device or multiple storagedevices, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/orassociated caches and servers that store one or more sets ofinstructions. The terms “computer-readable storage device” and“processor-readable storage device” also include any device that iscapable of storing a set of instructions for execution by a processor orthat cause a computer system to perform any one or more of the methodsor operations disclosed herein. For example, a computer-readable orprocessor-readable storage device may include random access memory(RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-onlymemory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), registers,a hard disk, a removable disk, a disc-based memory (e.g., compact discread-only memory (CD-ROM)), a solid-state memory, or any other form ofstorage device. A computer-readable or processor-readable storage deviceis not a signal.

As used herein, a “live” stream may differ from a “VOD” stream and a“DVR” stream. A VOD stream originates from, or corresponds to, contentthat is available in its entirety at a stream source when a packet ofthe VOD stream is sent. For example, a VOD stream may correspond to amovie or television show that is stored at a storage device. A livestream corresponds to content that is not available in its entirety whena packet of the live stream is sent. For example, a live stream may beused to transmit audio and/or video content corresponding to an event asthe event is being captured (e.g., in real-time or near-real-time).Examples of such events may include, but are not limited to, in-progresssporting events, musical performances, video-conferences, and webcamfeeds. It should be noted that a live stream may be delayed with respectto the event being captured (e.g., in accordance with government orindustry regulations, such as delay regulations enforced by the FederalCommunications Commission (FCC)). A DVR stream corresponds to atime-shifted version of a live stream that is generated by a device thatreceives the live stream, where the device may still be receiving livestream or may have finished receiving the live stream. Thus, network DVRcontent may be generated by a device that receives a stream via anetwork and “records” the received stream, such as for subsequenttransmission via a network to another device. As described above, thesystems and methods of the present disclosure may be used in conjunctionwith “live linear” streams, which may include a live feed, or a VODasset or a DVR asset being rebroadcast as a live feed. It should also benoted that although certain embodiments may be described herein withreference to video on demand content or digital video recorder content,not all of the described techniques may require video content/data.Certain embodiments may also be used with content that does not includevideo (e.g., audio on demand, radio content, music streams, etc.). Livelinear streams that present “hyper-targeted” content or that arepresented less than twenty-four hours a day may alternatively bereferred to as mini linear (“minear”) streams.

In a particular embodiment, a method includes receiving at least onesearch term at a computing device coupled to a first content sourcestoring first video content, the at least one search term associatedwith a streaming video channel. The method also includes receivinginformation based on the at least one search term, the informationassociated with second video content available from a second contentsource. The method further includes generating a streaming schedule forthe streaming video channel. The streaming schedule indicates thatduring a first time period, the streaming video channel is to presentthe first video content from the first content source. The streamingschedule also indicates that, during a second time period, the streamingvideo channel is to present the second video content available from thesecond content source.

In another particular embodiment, an apparatus includes a processor anda memory storing instructions executable by the processor to performoperations including receiving at least one search term at a computingdevice coupled to a first content source storing first video content,the at least one search term associated with a streaming video channel.The operations also include receiving information based on the at leastone search term, the information associated with second video contentavailable from a second content source. The operations further includegenerating a streaming schedule for the streaming video channel. Thestreaming schedule indicates that during a first time period, thestreaming video channel is to present the first video content from thefirst content source. The streaming schedule also indicates that, duringa second time period, the streaming video channel is to present thesecond video content available from the second content source.

In another particular embodiment, a computer-readable storage devicestores instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause thecomputer to perform operations that include receiving at least onesearch term at a computing device coupled to a first content sourcestoring first video content, the at least one search term associatedwith a streaming video channel. The operations also include receivinginformation based on the at least one search term, the informationassociated with second video content available from a second contentsource. The operations further include generating a streaming schedulefor the streaming video channel. The streaming schedule indicates thatduring a first time period, the streaming video channel is to presentthe first video content from the first content source. The streamingschedule also indicates that, during a second time period, the streamingvideo channel is to present the second video content available from thesecond content source.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of the variousembodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a completedescription of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systemsthat utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many otherembodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewingthe disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from thedisclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changesmay be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure.Accordingly, the disclosure and the figures are to be regarded asillustrative rather than restrictive.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangementdesigned to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted forthe specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover anyand all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the description.

The Abstract is submitted with the understanding that it will not beused to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. Inaddition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may begrouped together or described in a single embodiment for the purpose ofstreamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter may be directed toless than all of the features of any of the disclosed embodiments.

The above-disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, andnot restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all suchmodifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall withinthe scope of the present disclosure. Thus, to the maximum extent allowedby law, the scope of the present disclosure is to be determined by thebroadest permissible interpretation of the following claims and theirequivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoingdetailed description.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: analyzing, by one or moreprocessors of a computer, a streaming schedule of a streaming videochannel for one or more scheduling gaps including periods of time inwhich no content is scheduled for streaming, the streaming schedulecomprising a list of start times, end times, and titles corresponding tovideo segments available for streaming; and streaming supplementalcontent to fill the one or more scheduling gaps.
 2. The method of claim1, further comprising: receiving the supplemental content from a contentsource comprising a data storage device storing video on demand (VOD)content or digital video recorder (DVR) content, a media server, acontent delivery network server, a capture device configured to capturea media stream, or any combination thereof.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the supplemental content comprises a live linear video stream,the method further comprising: making available, to other computingdevices, a uniform resource locator of the supplemental content.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the supplemental content is selected based onuser input.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the streaming schedulecomprises one or more video segment titles and streaming times, themethod further comprising: analyzing the one or more video segmenttitles and streaming times for indicators of preferred supplementalcontent.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein streaming supplementalcontent to fill the one or more scheduling gaps comprises streamingsupplemental content to fill the one or more scheduling gaps based onresults related to the indicators of preferred supplemental content. 7.The method of claim 6, wherein streaming supplemental content to fillthe one or more scheduling gaps comprises streaming a first supplementalcontent item to a first user device and streaming a second supplementalcontent item to a second user device.
 8. The method of claim 6, whereinthe first supplemental content item is selected based on input from thefirst user device, and wherein the second supplemental content item isselected based upon input from the second user device.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the supplemental content comprises free content. 10.The method of claim 1, wherein the supplemental content comprises paidcontent from a commercial marketplace.
 11. The method of claim 8,wherein the input from the first user device, the input from the seconduser device, or both comprises one or more search terms.
 12. The methodof claim 11, wherein the one or more search terms correspond to metadataassociated with the supplemental content.
 13. The method of claim 1,further comprising truncating the supplemental content based on an endtime of a first video segment and a start time of a second videosegment, the first and second video segments listed in the streamingschedule.
 14. An apparatus comprising: a processor; and a memory storinginstructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processorto perform operations including: analyzing, by the processor, astreaming schedule of a streaming video channel for one or more gaps oftime in which no content is scheduled for streaming and for one or morecontent identifiers; and streaming supplemental content to fill the oneor more gaps of time, the supplemental content determined based on theone or more content identifiers.
 15. The apparatus of claim 14, whereinthe supplemental content is restricted to free content.
 16. Theapparatus of claim 14, wherein the supplemental content is received froma streaming video channel of a third user device.
 17. The apparatus ofclaim 14, wherein the streaming schedule includes timing information.18. A computer-readable storage device storing instructions that, whenexecuted by a processor, cause the processor to perform operationsincluding: receiving, at a first time, a search term at a computingdevice coupled to a first content source storing first video content,the search term related to metadata of the first video content, whereinthe first video content is associated with a first user device;analyzing, by the processor, a streaming schedule of a streaming videochannel for one or more gaps of time in which no content is scheduledfor streaming and for one or more content identifiers; and streamingsupplemental content during the one or more gaps of time, thesupplemental content determined based on the user input, the one or morecontent identifiers, or a combination thereof.
 19. The computer-readablestorage device of claim 18, wherein the operations further include:receiving information based on the search term, the informationassociated with second video content available from a second contentsource, the second video content available for streaming at a secondtime following the first time, wherein the second video content isassociated with a second user.
 20. The computer-readable storage deviceof claim 19, wherein the operations further include: determining astreaming schedule of a streaming video channel to present contentrelated to the search term, wherein the streaming schedule spans a timeperiod including the second time, and wherein determining the streamingschedule includes: adding an identifier of the first video content tothe streaming schedule; identifying a scheduling gap in the streamingschedule, the scheduling gap corresponding to the second time; and inresponse to identifying the scheduling gap, adding an identifier of thesecond video content to the streaming schedule to fill the schedulinggap.